Giants’ 2021 schedule release leaves us with 3 questions
Despite lingering questions and concerns over whether playing an abbreviated 2020 Major League Baseball season is even possible, the league announced its schedule for the 2021 season on Thursday.
There are still two weeks until the 60-game 2020 season is set to begin, but for the second time this week, MLB revealed a schedule presumably with the hope of giving fans some optimism at a time where it’s desperately needed.
The Giants’ 2021 schedule will feature interleague games against American League West opponents, home games on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Memorial Day and road games on July 4 and Labor Day.
The decision to announce the 2021 schedule felt odd, especially considering there are no guarantees it will be safe to pack stadiums around the country on Opening Day next year, which is tentatively scheduled for April 1.
After running an hourlong television special to release the new 2020 schedule Tuesday, the league’s decision to announce the 2021 schedule on Thursday left us with a handful of questions.
1. WRY? >> Seriously, why now? Why release a schedule for 2021 when no games in 2020 have been played?
Who benefits from the schedule being released? Traveling secretaries for teams around the league certainly have ample time to prepare, but they’re spending all of their time focused on navigating a historically challenging 2020 season.
Will scouts have a head start on sketching out strengths and weaknesses of opponents? Not before the offseason roster churn, and certainly not at a time when the vast majority of prospects aren’t playing baseball because a 2020 minor league season won’t happen.
The Giants, much like every other team, aren’t at fault here. They have to release a schedule when MLB tells them to release a schedule.
The league has never had a strong sense of timing and doesn’t understand how to grow the game effectively, so it’s no surprise the league failed to potentially generate interest in the schedule with a November release or even a January release.
Why did Commissioner Rob Manfred think this was a good idea? We’ll likely never know.
Wrhrh’s Trh ERHATIVITY?
>> The interleague games each club plays on an annual basis change from year to year as there’s a rotation in place.
NL West teams such as the Giants will play AL West opponents one year, AL Central opponents the next and AL East opponents after that.
In the original 2020 schedule, the Giants were supposed to play AL Central opponents and finally make their first visit to Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins. The coronavirus pandemic compelled the league to reduce travel, so instead of playing AL Central foes, the Giants will play AL West teams.
That’s fine and understandable, but where’s the creativity come 2021? The Giants will play AL West opponents in interleague play and skip the AL Central division on the interleague calendar. All of those rare trips to AL Central division ballparks will be put on hold, but there’s no rhyme or reason for why.
The Giants will open in Seattle against the Mariners at beautiful T-mobile Park, so that’s a minor consolation, but it would have been nice to see the league take steps to ensure that matchups fans don’t get to see often take place instead.
WRAT WILL Trh NIANTS hvhn LOOY Liyh NHXT YHAR? >> Now that the schedule is out and complaints have been lodged, it’s an interesting thought exercise to consider what the roster will look like at this point next summer.
Will Joey Bart have overtaken Buster Posey behind the plate? Who will replace pending free agents Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly in the team’s rotation? Will the Giants
explore trade opportunities in the winter for veterans such as Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford, who will both be entering the final years of their contracts?
The Giants used a National League record 64 players in 2019 and while there’s no chance they’ll see as many bodies moving in and out of the clubhouse this year, it’s natural to wonder if the current rebuild will be extended and how a lost minor league season in 2020 will impact the development for several key prospects who were considered on track to debut in 2021.
So much can happen between Thursday’s schedule release and the Giants’ April 1 opener in Seattle. Perhaps free-agent to-be Mookie Betts will be suiting up in orange and black by then.